Earlier this week, President Trump had nominated Raymond Martinez as the administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The nomination is currently awaiting confirmation by the Senate. The three prominent trade groups in the industry, namely the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), the American Trucking Association (ATA), and the Truckload Carriers Association, have expressed their support for this decision and have stated that they intend to work closely with the bureaucrat.

The Chief Operating Officer of Navistar International, Persio Lisboa, had addressed the gathering at the 26th Annual Heavy-Duty Manufacturers Association Breakfast and Briefing that was held during the inaugural North American Commercial Vehicle Show on September 27.

Freight brokers refer to individuals or organizations that act as a mediator between companies that require shipping services and authorized motor carriers. This year, many freight brokers are due for a yearly bond renewal towards the fourth quarter.

On September 26, President Trump nominated Raymond P Martinez as administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The nomination is awaiting confirmation from the Senate. Martinez is currently the chairman and chief administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission and a member of the New Jersey State Planning Commission.

The constant changes in consumer demands and the growing shortage of drivers has prompted the trucking industry to re-evaluate the model on which it has been functioning all these years. Since trucks move over 70% of all domestic freight, a shortage of truck drivers could eventually affect the economy. Moreover, the problem regarding truck inefficiency seems to be rising.

As Hurrican Irma and Harvey caused massive destruction across Florida and the Gulf Coast, freight movement was also stalled. Once the Hurricanes passed, trucks were called in to haul relief supplies to the communities affected by the hurricanes.

The major shift in buying and receiving consumer goods has affected industries such as food and automobile. The FTR conference held at Indianapolis this week affirmed that the impact will continue to grow in the coming decades and reshape freight movement.

Ross A Marchand from Economics 21, a non-profit organization that conducts economic research, compared the annual wages of a truck driver in 1976 to the annual wages received by drivers in 2016 in order to see how deregulation affected wages.

Trucking is the backbone of the nation's economy. Annually, 70.6 of all domestic freight is moved by trucks and this generates $676 billion of the total transportation revenue. Despite playing such a strong role, many trucking firms are not as profitable as one would expect and most of them struggle to stay in business.

After a 0.5% rise in July, the American Trucking Association's (ATA) seasonally adjusted for-hire index climbed up from 139.1 in July to 149 in August this year. The index climbed up by nearly 7.1%. On a year-over-year basis, the index was up by 8.2% as compared to August 2016. According to the new report, the gain in July 2017 was improved from 0.1% to 0.5%.

Driver turnover is becoming a widespread issue in the trucking industry. Since the second quarter of 2017, there has been a significant rise in driver turnover. The rising problem of driver turnover combined with the increasing freight demand has added to the problem of the growing driver shortage.

Tire costs are the second highest expenditure in the trucking industry, the highest being fuel costs. Weather changes affect the longevity of tires. During winters, it is common for the wheel hubs to freeze up and for ice to encrust the rims of the tires.

On September 18, Ellen Voie, president of Women in Trucking, an organization for the empowerment of women truckers, spoke about the importance of women drivers in the trucking industry at the McLeod Software User Conference.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) imposed electronic logging device (ELD) mandate is all set to come into effect on December 18. All efforts to delay or stall the mandate have been rejected despite the efforts put in by several trucking groups like the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA).